K9APE’s Bookshelf

The Neon Engineers Notebook

Morgan Crook & Jacob Fishman

This is the first opportunity that I have had to review a book written by a member of the North Shore Radio Club and I am pleased to report that enjoyed the opportunity. Jake, NEØNS, provided a draft copy for me and asked for my suggestions. Some of them made it into this first edition.

The Neon Engineers Notebook is a compendium of application notes on techniques and equipment used to make neon signs. For engineers like me who work with gas discharge illuminators and glass products, the book provides valuable insight into physical properties – especially when hot – of materials used to make neon signs.

The book comprises 184 pages divided into 33 chapters of approximately 5½ pages each. There are ample photographs and illustrations of tools, workbenches, property tables, nomographs and tubulations (glasswork in signs) – both good and bad. You will learn about pumping and vacuum pumps, pyrometers for measuring temperatures, bombarders for removing impurities, types of glasses, contaminants, coatings and how to bend glass tubes into those awesome shapes.

I believe that Art is the creative use of engineering techniques and materials. If you are an admirer of the art of glass making in general and neon signs in particular, then The Neon Engineers Notebook is a highly recommended reference. It won’t cause you to grab your credit card and race to the nearest parts store; but, it may motivate you to go to Jake’s studio/workshop for some lessons and hands-on experience.

The Neon Engineers Notebook can be purchased from Jake directly on on-line at his www.lightwriters.com website. I highly recommend it for the serious experimenter.